


Tell the Truth

by thecat_13145



Series: Brothers and Sisters [3]
Category: Numb3rs
Genre: Child Abuse, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-30
Updated: 2013-04-30
Packaged: 2017-12-10 00:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/779776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecat_13145/pseuds/thecat_13145
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nikki knows you should always tell the truth, but what happens when telling the truth will make things worse?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tell the Truth

**Author's Note:**

> This started life a series of prompts for Numb3rs100, but it wouldn't co-operate, so ended up as this.
> 
> Warning for Child Abuse and Swearing

“Where the fuck have you being?” Julia’s voice is little more than a hiss, but Nikki wasn’t really asleep. Like Julia, she’s being waiting for them ot come back. Max slides like a ghost back into his bunk, but Ian stares at her.

“Keep it down, will ya? You want him up?”

Nikki burrows deeper under the duvet. She’s only being here a month, but even she knows you don’t want Him up.

She isn’t too bad, she just ignores the kids. He pays attention to them. Not the worst kind of attention according to Max and Julia, but pretty bad.

“Bit late for that.” Julia muttered, but she drops her voice anyway. “He’s going to be up anyway in the morning.”

That get’s Ian attention.

“What ya mean?”

“What do you think?” She hears a rustle as Julia pulls back the covers. It’s dark here. Not as dark as the cupboard understairs where He locked Nikki up earlier. Nikki didn’t like that. She could hear Julia crying though the door and Him yelling. Julia said she wasn’t hungry when Nikki came out. Nikki thinks it’s because he hurt her tummy.

Ian says a bad word.  
***********

“Now Nikki, you’re not in any kind of trouble. We just want to ask you some questions. O.K.?” The Principal smiles. “Now, Julia said that you ran downstairs this morning to give her a hug and you knocked her against the sideboard, which is how she got hurt. Is that true?”

Nikki glances over to where Julia is sitting. She looks smaller, younger than she did this morning.

“Let’s try something else.” The Principal suggests after a few minutes. “You like Julia, don’t you? She’s your foster sister.”

Nikki nods because she does like Julia a lot. Julia lets Nikki sleep in her bed when she’s scared and doesn’t moan when she has an accident.

“And if someone was hurting Julia, you’d want them to stop right?”

She wants Them to stop. Wants it so badly that her chest hurts at points.

_“And what’s the alternative?” Julia had yelled that at Ian last night, when they saw what He’d done. “Back with Sister Agnes? Or Worse, my mom? I’d rather die first.”_

The Principal comes closer. “Nikki, no one is going to be mad if you tell the truth.”

But Ian will be. And Max will be, and Julia will be. And so will They.

“I hurt Julia.” She whispers softly. The Principal looks sad. 

“I didn’t know hugging was a contact sport.” She says, looks like she wants to say a bad word.


End file.
